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Ribonucleic acid (RNA) is a biologically important type of molecule that consists of a long chain of nucleotide units. Each nucleotide consists of a nitrogenous base, a ribose sugar, and a phosphate.

Newly discovered large phages blur the life/non-life boundary

A new study published in the journal Nature shows that there are literally hundreds of viruses large enough to consume bacteria, and with properties that are typical of a living organism rather than the non-living self-replicating packages of DNA/RNA that viruses are often assumed to be.

12 Feb 2020

Individual response to Ebola predicted by new method

The Ebola virus produces widely varying reactions, from asymptomatic illness to death, in people depending on the individual's susceptibility. But what drives this difference in response? A new study published in the journal Cell Reports on February 2020 goes one step further in understanding how the immune system reacts to the virus causing varying levels of severity of disease between cases.

11 Feb 2020

New technique may yield insights on the immune response to intestinal parasite infections

A new technique may help scientists study the body's immune response to intestinal parasite infections one gut cell at a time, according to a study published today in eLife.

11 Feb 2020

Developmental shape-shifting is key to cancer's ability to spread and evade immune defenses

Just as people tend to become stuck in their ways as they grow older so too do cells. Neurons in the brain don't one day decide to become heart cells; skin cells repair wounds with skin cells rather than kidney cells.

11 Feb 2020

Bats' fierce immune response to viruses could drive zoonotic emergence

It's no coincidence that some of the worst viral disease outbreaks in recent years -- SARS, MERS, Ebola, Marburg and likely the newly arrived 2019-nCoV virus -- originated in bats.

10 Feb 2020

Protein Data Bank archive releases new coronavirus protease structure

The Protein Data Bank archive, which contains more than 160,000 3D structures for proteins, DNA, and RNA, this month released a new Coronavirus protease structure following the recent coronavirus outbreak, an ongoing viral epidemic primarily affecting mainland China that now threatens to spread to populations in other parts of the world.

10 Feb 2020

CSU researchers uncover new information on replication of viruses

An interdisciplinary team of researchers at Colorado State University has used computational chemistry, biochemistry and virology to uncover new information on how viruses such as West Nile, dengue and Zika replicate.

9 Feb 2020

Biological toolkit will help researchers design new functions in mammalian cells

A new synthetic biology toolkit developed at Northwestern University will help researchers design mammalian cells with new functionalities.

9 Feb 2020

Developing new approaches to fight against multi-resistant pathogens

Developing fundamentally new approaches against multi-resistant germs: This is the goal of the new Bavarian research network bayresq.net which started in January 2020.

9 Feb 2020

Novel method to monitor residual disease after treatment in high-risk neuroblastoma patients

A research group led by Professor NISHIMURA Noriyuki (Graduate School of Health Sciences, Kobe University) has developed a new method to monitor the residual disease after treatment in high-risk neuroblastoma patients.

9 Feb 2020

Research provides new insights into molecular basis of X-chromosome inactivation

Researchers at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory in Heidelberg and Institut Curie in Paris have shown that the protein SPEN plays a crucial role in the process of X-chromosome inactivation, whereby female mammalian embryos silence gene expression on one of their two X chromosomes.

7 Feb 2020

CDC diagnostic coronavirus test gets FDA emergency approval

In the light of the ongoing novel coronavirus epidemic in China, the US Food and Drug Administration has granted approval of a diagnostic test for use in emergency situations (emergency use authorization or EUA). The viral infection has spread to many different and distant parts of the world, involving over 25,000 people and causing nearly 600 deaths since it started in December 2019.

6 Feb 2020

Novel tool monitors influenza A virus mutations in real time

A Rutgers-led team has developed a tool to monitor influenza A virus mutations in real time, which could help virologists learn how to stop viruses from replicating.

6 Feb 2020

Analyzing cancer-specific alterations found in tumor's RNA

Researchers at EMBL-EBI were among the leaders of a large international consortium that carried out a joint analysis of data from over 1000 donors of more than 25 cancer types, studying data on their whole genomes along with tumor transcriptome data, which indicates the genes that are active within a tumor.

6 Feb 2020

First comprehensive survey of viruses found within different cancers

Researchers from the University of East Anglia have helped to carry out the first comprehensive survey of viruses found within different types of cancer.

5 Feb 2020

Targeting a protein could be key to suppressing breast cancer metastasis

A new study by University of Kentucky Markey Cancer Center researchers suggests that targeting a protein known as heat shock protein 47 (Hsp47) could be key for suppressing breast cancer metastasis.

5 Feb 2020

Heart muscle cells of zebrafish change their metabolism during heart regeneration

Researchers from the group of Jeroen Bakkers at the Hubrecht Institute have found that the muscle cells in the heart of zebrafish change their metabolism, the way in which they generate energy, during heart regeneration.

5 Feb 2020

Gut microbes in wasps help overcome pesticides

An intriguing study published in February 2020 in the journal Cell Host & Microbe reports that when wasps are exposed to atrazine, a commonly used pesticide, the gut microbiome undergoes changes that help them overcome the ill-effects of the exposure. In addition, the changes are passed on to the offspring, which means that the next generation will also inherit atrazine resistance even without being exposed to the chemical.

4 Feb 2020

Hendra antibody trial shows promise in a world-first human clinical trial

The Hendra virus is a potent pathogen transmitted to humans from animals that cause a severe and often fatal illness in both infected horses and humans. Originating from fruit bats, the virus caused an outbreak in Australia in 1994.

4 Feb 2020

RNA affecting skin cancer progression discovered

Researchers at the University of Turku, Turku University Central Hospital, and Western Cancer Center have discovered a new RNA molecule, PRECSIT, which regulates the growth and invasion of squamous cell carcinoma of the skin.

4 Feb 2020